HAMDEN, CONN. — A University of Georgia student has died after falling while hiking in a state park in Connecticut, according to officials.

Officials say the incident happened Monday at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden. Emergency crews responded to the park just before noon on Monday after receiving reports of a hiker who had fallen from an unmarked trail.

Authorities identified the victim as 23-year-old William Cooper Gatch of Statesboro.

First responders found Gatch in a wooded area with severe injuries and pronounced him dead at the scene. Investigators say the fall appears to be accidental.

“There were many things William loved in life, but the two that encompass it all are his habit of piddling and compassion for others,” according to a statement in his obituary. “It was through a combination of these two traits that he chose to study Agricultural Education– where he could use his tinkering abilities and teach young minds. In his final semester, he was student teaching at Madison County High School, where he regularly updated the family about the achievements of his students through their FFA careers.”

Family members say Gatch was hiking with his sister at the time of the incident.

According to his obituary, he was weeks away from graduating from the University of Georgia with a degree in agricultural education and had been student teaching at Madison County High School.